Days Gone By
by InsideMyBrain
Summary: Kaoru is dying. His doctors tell him he only has a week left to live. He desperately wants Hikaru by his side when he dies, but Hikaru and Haruhi went missing ten years ago! Will Kyoya and the Black Onion Squad find them in time?
1. Day 1

**Ok, this is my first fanfic... Hoping it goes well!**

**I do not own OHSHC. **

**Read and review!**

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Day 1

Kaoru lay on his bed, hands clasping and unclasping in nervous anticipation. His head was filled with anxieties and fears.

For a few months, he'd been fighting bone cancer. He'd forgotten how long it had been since the diagnosis. How could he forget that day? The crushing despair that had plummeted to the pit of his stomach and stayed there, forever, it seemed.

The doctors entered the room, followed by a lawyer. He sat up and cleared his throat. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his thinning hair.

When they found out, the Hitachiin family had hired the best doctors. Not that it mattered much to Kaoru. That feeling in the pit of his stomach reminded him every day that he was going to die.

"Kaoru." One of the doctors said. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but you only have a week to live. At most."

This was it. The moment that Kaoru had been expecting for months. But now that it had really come, it didn't hurt as much as he had expected it to.

'Oh well.' He thought. 'I suppose we all have to die sometime.'

"If you want to make any changes to your will," The doctor continued, "We have a lawyer present." Kaoru shook his head. "I am satisfied with it." He replied. His voice was rough and hard, so unlike the voice he used to have.

The doctors nodded and, with one final pitying look, they left the room.

Kaoru curled up on his side and, for the thousandth time, wished that Hikaru were there. He'd been wishing that for the past ten years. But of course, he wasn't there. And he likely never would be.

Ten years ago, Hikaru announced his intention to go travel the world with Haruhi. He said they'd be traveling for six months. It turned out to be ten years. After they'd been gone for seven months, and with no communication from either of them, Kaoru went to the police. They'd searched, but they were unable to find any trace of them. It was like they'd disappeared off the face of the earth.

He took it badly. To lose his brother and his long-time love, in one blow, was too much. He'd sunk into a depression that lasted three years.

He wondered if he could have done more. Stopped them from going, or maybe searched for them himself. But if the police couldn't find them, how could he expect to?

His thoughts turned to the old days, in high school. The Host Club. It was fun. Maybe too much fun, he realized. But still, he did't regret one second of it.

He remembered Haruhi with a smile. The way she'd crashed into their world, breaking all the barriers he and Hikaru had previously established. The way she could tell between them. The way she knew them as two separate people, instead of just one unit.

He remembered the other members. Honey, Mori, Tamaki, Kyoya. Tamaki. He really was an idiot back then. Still, a nice idiot. He and Hikaru were idiots as well, but they weren't as clueless as Tamaki.

He wondered what they were doing. Now that they were adults with busy lives, they rarely talked. Still, they sometimes called each other to chat. But since Kaoru's cancer, he hadn't called a single one of them. He didn't want to tell anyone. He didn't want to hear their pity. At first, anyway. And later, he just kept putting it off.

He decided to start now. 'They have to know sometime, right?' He asked himself. He grabbed the phone book and started thumbing through it.

He decided to start with Kyoya. He would be the least likely to have a fit of emotion. He picked up the phone and dialed the number quickly before he could regret it.

Kyoya answered on the first hint of a ring. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Kyoya Otoori?"

"Yes. Who's this?"

"Kaoru. Kaoru Hitachiin."

"Kaoru? That's you? You sound different."

"I know."

"So, what's new?"

"Cancer."

"Pardon?"

"Bone cancer. I have bone cancer. And only seven days to live."

There was silence on the other end.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Kyoya asked.

"I… I don't know." Kaoru replied. He sighed and said, "I wish Hikaru were here."

"You know, when he first went missing, I was surprised you didn't ask for my family's help."

"Pardon?"

"Well, more specifically the Black Onion Squad."

Kaoru blinked in surprise. 'Oh right, the Black Onion Squad.' He thought. Then he blinked again. 'The Black Onion Squad!

"Kyoya…" He said slowly.

"Yes?"

"Do you think they'd object to a case that was ten years old?"

"Object? No-one objects to anything their superiors say."

Kaoru smiled. Was it really possible, that after ten years, he could be reunited with his brother?


	2. Day 2

**Yayyy new chapter!**

**Ok so since I last posted I got exactly... 2 reviews! Wow! Amazing! *note the sarcasm***

**C'mon you guys, I checked the stats. More than two of you read it! So please, if you read, review! (Thanks to the two people who did review: Hikaru Kaoru plus Haruhi and InvisableTarget.)**

**Ok now that that's out of the way, welcome to day 2 of Days Gone By! Sorry it's S&amp;S (short and shitty) today, but it picks up in the next chapter, I swear. Anyway, you can scroll down and enjoy now!**

Day 2

The next day, Kyoya Otoori and the top detectives of the Black Onion Squad assembled in Kaoru's bedroom.

"He was planning on travelling for six months?" One of the detectives said. "Yes." Kaoru confirmed.

The detective was a tall man, about 6' 1", with a thin, clean-shaven face. There was an eager, calculating gleam in his dark eyes that Kaoru took to be the excitement of a tracker upon a fresh scent. It gave him hope.

"Did he say where he was going?" The detective asked.

"No," Kaoru replied, "but he sent me postcards from every location. He said they would spend two weeks in each place, so I suppose after 4 months he stopped sending me postcards."

"May I see them?"

Kaoru opened his dresser drawer and pulled out eight postcards stacked in a neat pile. He placed them carefully on the dresser.

The detectives took a long time reading them. It made Kaoru feel slightly uncomfortable, having strangers read his personal letters, but if it would help find Hikaru, it would be necessary.

"Did your brother ever seem to be in any sort of danger?" One of the other detectives asked.

"Danger?" Kaoru replied. "No."

The detectives all looked at each other and nodded. They exchanged a few comments and stood up. The main detective said, "That will be all. We will begin looking tomorrow."

'Tomorrow?' Kaoru thought angrily. 'It's already been two days! Now we only have five days to find them!'

But he just nodded.

The detectives left the room and there was an awkward silence that was broken by a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Kaoru called.

The door creaked open, revealing the rest of the host club.

"Guys…?" Kaoru said weakly.

Honey, Mori, and Tamaki entered the room. They looked much older than when Kaoru had last seen them. Tamaki's once luxurious mop of golden hair was thinning and greying, and Honey looked even smaller than usual. Only Mori remained relatively unchanged. Same dark hair, some exact expression on his face, deterred only by a few wrinkles.

They talked. About the past, or the present. Not about the future. Not about what would happen after Kaoru died. They lived in the moment and enjoyed their time when everything was still unchanged.

**Ok, imma be mean and say I need at least 5 reviews before I post the next chapter. Hehe. You now have exactly ten seconds to review! GO!**


	3. Day 3

**Hello loyal readers! Thank you for the reviews, yay I reached my goal of 5! Sorry, I said I would update on Saturday, but I couldn't. I know, I'm such a horrible person! Oh, and Liz, I'm going to take that as a compliment. :D Soo yah and that's it for the author's note, enjoy!**

Day 3

Several hours later, Kaoru awoke from a peaceful slumber. It surprised him that he slept so soundly. It was the first good sleep he'd had in a while.

He looked at his phone and realized it was 7 the next morning. It was now the third day. He hoped the Black Onion Squad had stumbled upon Hikaru and Haruhi's trail.

The Black Onion Squad was at that moment in the tropical island of the Barbados. They were making inquiries at resorts, to no avail.

The head detective sighed. His name was Katsuo Nakano and he was annoyed with the case.

He pulled out a photocopy of the last postcard Hikaru sent. It ran like this:

"Dear Kaoru, Haruhi and I are now in the Barbados. We've had a great time so far. The beaches are really nice, we're enjoying ourselves a lot. I hope you're taking care of yourself. You'd really like it here, I know you would. Anything interesting happen at home lately? Has Tono been freaking out 'cause I 'kidnapped his little girl'? Haha, I love annoying him like that. Sadly, we only have 1 more week here, so expect my next postcard in two weeks. I miss you. Love, Hikaru."

'Absolutely no clues there.' Katsuo thought.

His car had arrived at the next resort. 'One more try.' He told himself.

He entered the hotel and greeted the concierge. "Can you check your records if anyone by the name of Hitachiin or Fujioka checked out in 2033?"

She looked surprised, and flustered too, but she began clicking away at her computer. Presently she spoke.

"Two people under the name Hitachiin checked in on February 26th, 2033, and checked out on March 12th, 2033."

"Do you happen to know where they were going next?" Katsuo questioned her.

A look of suspicion crossed her face. "No."

Katsuo decided he should stop asking questions. Obviously she didn't know anything else.

"Thank you." He left the hotel.

He got in his car. "To the airport!"

—

Back in Japan, Kaoru was trying to force down some breakfast.

In the early stages of his cancer, he'd eaten just as much as he normally would. But he soon discovered he'd just vomit it all back up again. The frustrating cycle of eat, purge, eat, purge, made him hungry and nauseous all the time. So he started eating less.

He pushed his dishes away and sighed. The anxiety about Hikaru and Haruhi was making him less hungry than usual.

He leaned back and thought about his twin.

Together. Always together. They hoarded their personalities and guarded their secrets, never coming out of their shells. They were selfish and naive but they cared for each other.

The 'Which one is Hikaru' game popped into his head. They wanted to be told apart. They did. Subconsciously, Kaoru thought. But, at the same time, they told themselves it was impossible, that no-one would ever be able to do it. And then they stopped wanting to be told apart.

Kaoru winced a little when he thought about how much of a jerk he and Hikaru were. They'd taken all their subconscious anger out on others this way. It was also the only thing that made them a little happy, being confined as they were. Confined by steel traps of their own making.

He remembered how Tamaki came up to them and asked them to join the Host Club. They'd thought it would be fun to toy with them and make them guess. But then it got boring, as all their games did. Even so, Tamaki somehow guessed it. Back then, he'd felt annoyed, but now he was glad. If they hadn't joined the Host Club, they probably never would have opened up.

He had been surprised at how much fun he was having. It was strange to wake up each morning and look forward to the day. But it was a welcome change. He could see it on Hikaru's face as well; every day he woke up with a smile.

And that was the most gratifying thing. To know Hikaru was happy was all he needed to be happy.

But then Haruhi came, and all those complications ensued.

In a way, he supposed he should be resentful of Haruhi, for snagging Hikaru away from him. Especially because he loved Haruhi himself. But it was reward enough just to know Hikaru was happy.

He knew Hikaru felt that way about him too. Later, at least. In high school, he was still selfish and childish, but he grew up.

He wondered if their relationship was strange. They were brothers, yes, but they were also twins. Two souls that were so closely allied must be bound with the most sacred links.

They had a sort of intuition that way. He remembered a time when they were still in high school. Hikaru was downstairs, doing something, and he was in their room, reading a book. All of a sudden a feeling of impending doom came over him, and he rushed downstairs, certain Hikaru was in some sort of danger. It turned out he'd just cut his finger. If Kaoru had foreseen such a trifle, how could it be that he was still ignorant over whether he was even alive?

—

Katsuo Nakano was at the airport, looking over some files. It just didn't make sense. It said Hikaru and Haruhi had booked a flight to the Barbados, and they'd booked a flight out of the Barbados to Italy. However, they'd never actually boarded that flight. What had happened?

Had they been killed? Met with a tragic accident, or tragic "accident"? But if it truly was an accidental death, their bodies would have been found. And if they weren't dead, where did they go and why did they take such pains to conceal their whereabouts?

These were the principle difficulties of the case, and the things that nagged at the back of Katsuo's mind.

Annoyed, he stood up and slammed the files back onto the table. Twelve hours of making inquiries and all he'd accomplished was to confirm what he already knew.

He decided to go back to his hotel. A good sleep and a fresh start and he'd be all set to pick up some valuable new clues.

—

Kaoru slept uneasily that night. Thoughts about his twin kept filling his head. Finally, at around 2 in the morning, he punched his pillow and burst out,

"Goddamnit Hikaru! Why did you leave in the first place?! And why did you never come back?!"

He buried his head in the duvet as fresh tears slid down his cheeks. 'I just want them back…' He thought. 'I want to see them before I die!'

He tossed and turned until he drifted into a light sleep.

**Sooo what do you guys think? Is Katsuo a sucky detective? Don't worry, they get some answers in the next chapter. See ya then!**


	4. Day 4

**Crap! I'm so sorry! I tried posting it but it did that stupid thing where all it does is come up with a bunch of random text. I think the reason it did that is cuz I just copy and pasted it. Sorry I didn't check it either, I did it from school and I wasn't supposed to be posting so... Sorry! **

**I ****just wanna say thanks to everyone who's put up with me over the last few chapters, I've probably been a pain with my author's notes. Oh, one more thing: Should I respond to my reviews? I don't know cause I've submitted reviews and gotten replies, but I've also submitted reviews had haven't gotten any replies. But it seems like the dedicated authors reply. So… Yeah. I guess I should. My apologies to the people that reviewed and didn't get a reply. I'm starting now.**

**So here is chapter four of Days Gone By! As promised, Katsuo gets some answers in this chapter. I think Katsuo's becoming more of a main character so I'm gonna put him on the character list as an OC. So yeah thats it and enjoyyy! :D**

**(I apologize for the LONG note there.)**

Day 4

Several hours later, Kaoru awoke and found it to be ten o' clock the next morning. He rubbed the sleep dust out of his eyes and sat up. He needed to go to the bathroom.

He swung his feet over the edge of the bed. The slightest touch of the cold floor sent shivers up his legs. He grimaced and braced himself.

Kaoru stood up.

Pain shot up his legs, working its way into every little vein and artery. His bones and muscles screamed in defiance as he put weight on them. He strained against it, making himself move. Ignoring the pain, he concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

By the time he reached the bathroom off his bedroom, he was exhausted.

Damn cancer wouldn't even let him go to his own bathroom.

—

Back in the Barbados, Katsuo Nakano had decided to make some personal inquiries.

A task such as this called for a disguise. He couldn't just walk into a bar and start asking questions. No, he had to mix with the locals.

He decided to come in the guise of a tired, overworked businessman. The sort of, "Oh just came in for a few drinks" type. The one who complains about his mother-in-law while staring into the bottom of his scotch glass.

He put on an unironed suit and mussed up his hair a little. Pretty good. He slipped into a pair of unshined shoes and was about to leave when he remembered something. He crossed over to the table in his hotel room, where a little microphone sat, almost as if it had been carelessly tossed aside. He clipped it onto his shirt and then used his suit jacket to conceal it.

Just in case.

—

11:30, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. Kaoru was deep in thought about Haruhi.

He remembered the day she came. When she stumbled into the club and broke that vase. And, just like the vase, their lives were shattered into a million pieces.

Haruhi. Her laugh, her smile. Her very presence in a room seemed to make everyone happier.

A sad smile played around Kaoru's lips. So many years later and he still had the same thoughts he had when he was fifteen.

He remembered how it had baffled them how she could tell them apart. No-one, not one single person had ever been able to do that. She was the first one. What had he called it? A true gatecrasher.

That was also the day he stopped thinking about her as his toy. At that point, everything was a toy to him. But this incident showed she was more than that. She was something else. She was more than a beautiful girl, more than a caring and perceptive friend. She became something else to him. He just had to figure out what that something was.

And then it hit him. He loved her.

At first, it was hard because he didn't know if she loved him back. But then it became worse as he saw Hikaru was developing feelings for her. It almost made it even worse that Hikaru didn't know it himself. He remembered the disastrous few days in Karuizawa. First, Hikaru insulted her friend, then he left her alone in a thunderstorm. Even now, he felt a sense of annoyance at his brother. It was true he didn't know Haruhi was afraid of thunder and lightening, but that was no excuse to run off like a little bitch! He uncurled the fists he'd unconsciously made.

But somehow, in the end, she'd fallen for Hikaru. And Hikaru was overjoyed. And although he was happy for his twin, somewhere inside of him a bitterness lingered, stabbing him in the gut every time he looked at her.

He'd learned to deal with the pain. Over time, it slowly diminished from a stabbing sensation to a small ache to a temporary cramp.

He still loved her. But over the years, he'd learned to be happy for the both of them. He realized true love meant being happy that the one you love is happy, not trying to make yourself happy by being with them.

And this had helped him live his life to the fullest, rather than spend every day being eaten by the regrets of lost love.

Kaoru sighed. He didn't want to think about it anymore. But what else was he supposed to do while he was waiting?

Waiting. That was one of the worst parts of cancer. Waiting for the diagnosis. Waiting for treatment. And now, waiting to die.

He opened his dresser drawer and a glint of sun caught the edge of a picture frame. He lifted it out and studied it.

It was a picture of one of the Host Club's reunions. They all seemed to be in their early- to mid-twenties, and they were laughing in the innocence of youth. Well, maybe not so innocent.

Honey was at the front, being as small as he was, and he brandished a cupcake at the photographer like a weapon. Behind him, Hikaru and Haruhi stood side by side, holding hands. Hikaru was flushing nervously and Haruhi just smiled in her usual way. Kaoru was on her other side, smiling too, but event through the glass of the picture frame you could see the hurt in his eyes. Tamaki was behind the three of them, flanked by Kyoya and Mori. Kaoru remembered how annoyed Tamaki was when he couldn't stand next to Haruhi. Even though Hikaru and Haruhi were a couple then, it hadn't stopped him from wanting to protect his 'daughter'.

'Enough of this.' Kaoru thought. 'I can't drown myself in memories.'

But if not memories, what then?

—

Katsuo Nakano walked into a local bar and ordered a drink.

His plan was to drink a little, start out with some small talk, and pry some information out of the bartender.

It turned out he didn't need a plan. As soon as the bartender saw him, he started blabbering away about the last time "them asians" came in.

"It was 'bout ten years ago, the last time I saw one of you people." The bartender reminisced. "Usually it's just those damn Americans, but every once in a while we get a Japanese."

Katsuo grunted and took a swig of his beer.

"It was two of them." He continued, "A man and a woman. A pretty girl. A real pretty girl."

"What did she look like?" Katsuo asked. he figured it was a good way to check if it really was Hikaru and Haruhi the bartender was talking about.

The bartender stopped wiping glasses and thought. "She had short brown hair and huge, glittering eyes. Really big, with the longest lashes."

It was a bit vague, but Katsuo could visualize Haruhi from that description.

The bartender blinked and went back to wiping glasses. "Yeah, everybody liked her. That guy she was with was a little protective." He paused and said, "You know, I don't get how he had red hair and hazel eyes… Whatever."

Yep, it was definitely Hikaru. Encouraged, took another sip and asked, "Protective?"

"Yeah, he started bitching at some drunk guys for staring at her ass."

'That's considered protective?' Katsuo thought.

"Although…"

"What?" Katsuo prompted.

"He probably shouldn't have done that. Those guys were, well, our local gangsters. It's pretty dangerous to fool around with them. Of course, he couldn't know that. But after they left, I saw murder in their eyes."

Katsuo was forming a theory.

"He told them he had a lot of power, and they didn't want to get on his bad side. I think they were just empty threats, but those guys are dangerous men to play that game with."

The bartender started, as though he had realized his mistake. "I probably shouldn't have told you that. Like I said, they're dangerous."

Katsuo nodded. "I'm gonna go." He told the bartender. He downed the rest of his beer, slapped some money on the table, and left.

—

'Well, that disposes of the idea of an accident, or at least makes it unlikely.' He thought in his hotel room. He now had a few options: They had been kidnapped/killed by the gangsters, or they had voluntarily fled to protect their lives.

Assuming it was the first one, his next move was to track down the men. How would he do that? He hadn't even obtained a description; and to walk back into that bar and start asking more questions, completely sober, would certainly arouse suspicion.

Now, if it was the second one, his course of action was much clearer. he had to go to the airport again, this time looking at the I.D. photographs rather than names. If they wanted to disappear, it wasn't unlikely that they would have changed their names.

He sighed contentedly. That was what he would do. If they weren't there, he was on a completely wrong scent. But if they were there, it would confirm his hypothesis.

—

Kaoru tried shaping his pillow so that it was fluffier and settled down in a different position. It didn't work. He didn't feel any sleepier.

He closed his eyes and pressed his palms to his forehead. "I'm happy, I'm happy, I'm happy…" He whispered, in an effort to calm himself down.

But it was useless. He was not happy. What was the point of trying to fool himself? Hell, he was about to die! You can't fool yourself when you're about to die. Life is too short as it is, without spending your last days trying to convince yourself things were not how they were.

He was living in a fantasy land. If things were just as he wanted them to be, Hikaru would never have fallen in love with Haruhi, and Haruhi would have fallen in love with him instead. They would both be in Japan, not God knows where, and Kaoru wouldn't be dying. He would have children, a wife, a brother, a job… Not the crappy reality he now called life.

But things never turn out exactly how you want them to. Even the children. Kaoru's cancer had destroyed his last hope of ever having kids.

Engrossed in these thoughts, he fell asleep with his face wet from tears, just as he had done countless nights before.


	5. Day 5

**Yesss! Finally posting! **

**I took some advice from Kc495 and added in how old they are. It's set in 2043, and they went missing in 2033, which makes Kaoru 52, and Hikaru and Haruhi 42 when they went missing. So that's that and hope you like!**

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Day 5

Katsuo Nakano awoke to bright sunshine and the chattering of foreign birds outside his window.

Today was going to be a good day. He could tell. He dressed in his usual attire-not the rumpled suit and unshiny shoes from yesterday-and headed out to the airport.

—

Today was going to be a shitty day.

This was the first thought that popped into Kaoru's head when he woke up screaming.

It was the nightmare. The recurring dream he always had. He shuddered. Usually it was one of two: Hikaru falling off a cliff, or Haruhi falling off a cliff. But today, it was both.

The three of them were standing on top of a hill. Everything was peaceful, quiet. But there was a feeling of coming horror, like a yellow painting with a faint undertone of blue, or the tinkling of an ice cream truck long after you know the owner has been murdered.

Usually, at this point, the side of the hill would rip open, and either Hikaru or Haruhi would fall in. But this time, it was different.

When the hill split open, Haruhi was caught in the middle, falling, screaming, hurtling to the roiling lava that Kaoru somehow knew lurked below. He and Hikaru were on opposite sides of the chasm. Hikaru shouted into the abyss. Then he jumped in.

Kaoru awoke, screaming their names.

He lay on the ground, trying to catch his breath and calm himself down.

There was a creak and he looked up. He realized one of the nurses had been standing at the doorway the whole time.

—

Katsuo Nakano was at the airport again, in the same room, looking over the same frustrating files. Except this time, he was looking at the photographs.

Last time, he'd merely skimmed over the pictures. Now, he cursed himself out for being so stupid. That's where the key to the mystery was! Probably.

He went through the H section again. When he reached Hitachiin, he took out their photos and kept flipping. He would need some references.

He reached a file labeled, Himura, Kazuki. He opened it.

The information was limited, it merely said that they had booked two first-class tickets to Norway. Why anyone would want to leave the tropical climate of the Barbados for Norway was beyond Katsuo, but he guessed it didn't matter.

What he was really looking for was the pictures. He slid them out and stared at them for a few seconds until his mouth formed the word "Bingo."

Haruhi was wearing more makeup, and Hikaru had dyed his ginger hair brown, but it was definitely them. Katsuo took out the pictures of Hikaru and Haruhi from the Hitachiin file and compared them. Yes, they were a match.

He took a mental note of them. Kazuki Himura and Yuuna Himura, 42 years of age.

—

"Kaoru-sama… " The nurse said.

"It's fine, I'm fine…" Kaoru grunted and tried to get up, but his arms shook from even the slightest pressure.

The nurse advanced a few steps but Kaoru held up a hand and once again tried to stand up. Once again, he failed.

He looked up and saw she was extending a hand. Giving in, he took it. The nurse helped him back into bed.

"Do you need anything? Water? Some food?" She questioned. "Water would be good." He replied. She nodded and, with a small bow, withdrew.

Kaoru gave a small sigh. Cancer had taken away even his smallest freedoms.

At first, he had refused to accept it. He didn't want to be prematurely old, and cancer wasn't going to make him.

But over time, he realized it was fruitless. There _was _no known cure for cancer, and and if you were going to die early, you better make the most of your last days.

Of course, he'd rather do that with Hikaru there, but… Again, it was impossible. For the last ten years, it had been hopelessly out of his reach. There were times when he honestly wondered how he had survived without Hikaru. And there were times when he barely wanted to. Having Hikaru by his side for his entire life was a luxury he'd gotten too used to. It hadn't prepared him for this.

The door opened, and the nurse came in, bearing a tray with a water jug and a tumbler. She sat it down on his dresser and started to back away. "Thank you…" Kaoru mumbled, but she was already gone.

But… Where was he? Oh yes, Hikaru.

He wondered how his life might have been different if he was an only child. Without Hikaru, would he be an entirely different person? Would he have joined the host club by his own free will? Or would he have never been approached by Tamaki Suou at all?

He was inclined to think the latter. As he recalled, Tamaki only came to talk to them because they were so withdrawn. And he highly doubted that he would have been so withdrawn if his twin hadn't been there.

Which brought up other things for consideration. Would he have had a lot of friends? If he had come out of his shell, then probably. And through his friends, he probably would have met girls, and maybe fallen in love. And he wouldn't have been alone with his own thoughts. And he wouldn't have been left dwelling on Haruhi all these years.

He wondered who the mysterious girl would have been. He tried to picture one, but Haruhi kept popping up. Damn! He still freakin' loved her.

—

Katsuo Nakano was on a plane to Norway, flipping through an english magazine.

After he'd made that discovery, Oslo was their next destination. He liked to think that they were hot on Hikaru and Haruhi's trail, but really, the trail was pretty easy to follow. He wondered why the official police force hadn't found them.

The truth was, they hadn't really looked too hard. There were other, more important, crimes to solve in that time period. The most famous case was the arrests of the most dangerous criminals in Tokyo. Six of the eight had been arrested while the search for Hikaru and Haruhi was going on. Needless to say, they had their men on those cases.

"Attention all passengers, we will be arriving in Oslo momentarily. Please fasten your seatbelts as we prepare to land."

Katsuo buckled the strap and tightened it, then opened his magazine again, trying to translate. Eventually, the pain in his ears distracted him and he put it down with a sigh.

—

Kaoru was sleeping.

The nurse from earlier was standing at the doorway, a look of concern on her face.

Like all the staff in the Hitachiin home, she'd been told of the Ootori family's search for Hikaru and Haruhi. This didn't alter her opinion on the matter.

'Poor Kaoru…' She thought sadly, watching his sleeping face. 'After all these years, waiting and waiting, and now only two days left.'

She didn't doubt it for a moment that they wouldn't be found. After all, the real police couldn't find them. And now, they only had two days left. What could they do in two days?

The phone rang loudly, nearly scaring her out of her wits. Luckily, Kaoru was so dead to the world that he merely mumbled in his sleep and turned over. She breathed a sigh of relief and picked it up.

"Hitachiin residence." She spoke into the phone.

"Hello, this is Katsuo Nakano, head detective of the Black Onion Squad. May I speak with Kaoru Hitachiin?"

The nurse bit her lip and and looked down at the sleeping Kaoru. "Kaoru-sama is sleeping now. Can it wait?"

"I'm sorry, but this is of the utmost importance. Kindly wake him up." Katsuo directed her.

Biting her lip once more, she shook him gently. "Kaoru-sama? Phone." His eyes flickered open and and she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was momentarily disoriented. Then he blinked and the look was gone.

He took the phone from her and rubbed his eyes blearily. "Hello?"

"Hello, this is Katsuo Nakano, head detective of the Black Onion Squad. This is Kaoru Hitachiin?"

"Yes."

"I have important information regarding the disappearance of your brother and his wife."

Kaoru sat straight up in bed and breathed heavily. Here it was. The moment of truth.

"We have traced them to Norway. Not sure where yet, but we know they flew to Oslo."

"That's it?"

"Yes. We will continue our search in Oslo."

"Thank you."

Kaoru hung up in slow motion, then sank back into the pillow. Blood pumped through his body and a new feeling coursed through his brain.

Hope.

—

Katsuo Nakano pressed the little red button on his phone and sighed. He was hungry, tired, and jet lagged, so the first place he went was his hotel.

After a quick shower, he sat at his desk pondering the case. How could he trace them from here? They could have settled in Oslo, so he could start by inquiring with their photographs. Yes, that would be his next move. With a contented sigh, he picked up his phone again and pulled out a hair dryer.

He really loved his job.

—

Kaoru smiled and smiled. It was possible! It was truly possible!

The nurse gave a small cough and he looked up, dismayed. She was still here?

"You may go now."

She nodded and left.

He closed his eyes and imagined Hikaru and Haruhi were gathered around his bed, along with the rest of the host club. He imagined extending a hand to each of them, telling them exactly how much they had meant to him.

This was how he wanted to spend his last days.

He fell asleep with the image of his twin in his mind.


	6. Day 6

**Tah dah! Chapter six! Or day six! Whatever! You can tell im a bit tired cause its currently two-forty-nine in dee morning! Just got back from an easter party... Makeup still on, fully clothed... I was up for a while reading the spectacular now. You should read it, its good. My parents are snoring awaay, my sisters pretneding to sleep but really on her phone... All is right with the world. And now im in my living room, surrounded by darkness except for the beacon of light coming from my iPad. The nighttime is truly glorius.**

**wow. I get super weeeeeerd when im tired. If your still skeptical, ask brushtail. She will tell you all. Ayway, i shall stfu now, cause you dint wanna be reading this. Chances are if ur on fanfic at three in the morning you are not here to read this. Okie, byeee!**

* * *

Day 6

"What the hell."

Katsuo Nakano was seriously annoyed. All day yesterday making inquiries, and all day today with nothing. He turned around and looked at his men.

"Well, what are we going to do?"

"Um, well, we didn't look in some of the less, um, wealthy neighbourhoods…" One of the other detectives suggested.

He snorted. "Do they even have those in Norway? Norway's one of the best damn countries to live in…" He muttered. Then he cleared his throat and said louder, "Okay, we'll look in some of the poor communities."

Some members of the Black Onion Squad looked at each other. This was not going to be a good day.

—

At that moment, Kaoru was thinking the exact same thing.

But then he remembered that they were tracking them down, and a little bubble of hope rose in his chest. In spite of the circumstances, a smile forced his way onto his face.

He thought about the last few days. It was a luxury, thinking about his twin and Haruhi all the time. He usually didn't allow himself to dwell on the past too much.

He thought it was because of the therapist his parents forced him to go to when he was depressed. He frowned. He was an adult, his parents really shouldn't have had that much of a sway over him. But he guessed they needed him to get out of his rut. He was managing two companies after all.

The therapist had told him to vent to her at first. But after several sessions, and he still wasn't getting any better, she'd basically told him to man up and deal with it.

Obviously, that probably wasn't what she would normally do. But with the Hitachiin family breathing down her neck, she probably decided to try another method.

The result of that method was to have it last for two more years. He just couldn't deal with the loss of the two people he cared for the most in the world. And being told to to stop thinking about it and forget they were even in his life made him even more unhappy, because he couldn't help it. So even now, he felt a sense of freedom in breaking those rules.

He realized that shrink was wrong. It was definitely not helpful to try and forget them. In fact, looking back was probably one of the best ways to rid yourself of the ghosts of the past. Because, eventually, you find peace with it, and with yourself.

And that was what he felt now. Peace.

He looked down at the blanket and its intricate woven patterns. Who had made this? And how long had it taken them? It was truly a masterpiece of fabric. It was warm and soft and beautiful.

A beam of sun wafted into the room and illuminated the flying dust. Before, all he would have thought was to tell the maids to vacuum more. But now he thought it was rather nice. Like wisps of dreams caught in thick honey.

He jumped out of bed and winced. He made his way over to the window and threw it open, revelling in the stunning landscapes around his mansion. He hadn't been able to enjoy these views for a while.

He breathed in the fresh air. It had rained recently. The scent almost sent him into a fit of ecstasy. The birds chirped and the water drops (or were they dew drops?) rolled off the tree leaves. There was a moment of serene silence.

A drop of water splashed onto the cushioned window seat. He stared at it for a moment, then another joined it. He reached up to touch his face. They were coming from his eyes. He was crying.

Kaoru sniffled loudly and stared out the window some more. If only he could eat smells.

—

"Excuse me sir, do you recognize them?" The language expert of the Black Onion Squad asked an elderly gentleman in flawless Norwegian.

He stared at the photo for a moment, then looked at them. "Piss off." He walked away.

"Well?" Katsuo Nakano asked. The language expert switched back to Japanese. "He said no."

Katsuo cursed.

"Um, excuse me?" One of the rookie detectives asked. This was his first big case and Katsuo highly disapproved of the decision to assign him to this one. "What?" He snapped.

"I was just thinking, they're probably not in Oslo. They might have taken a car to another town. Not a plane, because otherwise they would have booked a ticket straight there. Not a taxi either, that's too far to ask a taxi to take you to. So let's ask about them for at a car dealership."

Katsuo opened his mouth to tell the rookie detective what a terrible idea that was.

And then he shut it. "Excellent idea." He heard himself say. "C'mon."

—

Kaoru sat by the window for almost an hour, thinking.

He didn't want to die. Of course not. But he had no say.

Would he have changed his life, if he could? No. Definitely not. No, he regretted nothing. His life was as perfect as a life could get.

And that was the perfect way to spend his last few days, thinking about the past. No, you cannot drown yourself in memories, but you also cannot bury yourself in the present. Because then you'd be sleepwalking through life.

No, you have to remember the days gone by.

Days gone by. That was sort of a pretty phrase. 'Never forget to remember the days gone by.' He thought. He would tell that to Hikaru. Yes, those would be the first words he'd tell Hikaru.

—

"Excuse me sir, do you recognize them?" The language expert asked.

"I sure do." The car dealership owner said, taking a puff of his cigar. "Yeah, they came 'round in 2033. They bought the 2034 Jetta. Real nice car. Good for highways."

"Did you happen to hear where they were going?"

He blew the smoke out of his mouth thoughtfully.

"Yeh. They asked me how far it was to Drøbak. I told 'em, take the highway east for one hour, then you hit Drøbak."

"Well?" Katsuo asked the language expert. "They went to Drøbak." The language expert informed Katsuo.

"Then let's get our butts over to Drøbak."

The language expert thanked the car dealership owner, and they left.

—

Never forget to remember the days gone by. Never forget to remember the days gone by.

Kaoru repeated this to himself as a mantra as the nurses took his blood pressure.

"Your blood pressure is much higher than usual… And your heart rate's slowing down." One of the nurses informed him.

Kaoru gulped. "So… Basically I'm gonna die now?"

The nurse couldn't bring herself to tell him. She just nodded sadly.

"But… Hikaru and Haruhi aren't here."

The nurse bit her lip. "They may never be." She left the room.

—

Katsuo Nakano was in a car, speeding down the highway to Drøbak. Some of the other officers were talking about what they were going to do when they got there.

"The beach…"

"The shops…"

"Ice cream…"

"Men!" Katsuo said. The officers looked at him guiltily. "You can sightsee _after _we find Hikaru and Haruhi Hitachiin. But for now, minds on the case."

—

The words echoed in Kaoru's brain. 'They may never be…'

He shook himself. No, they had to be. They were coming.

He reached for a glass of water. As soon as he held the glass, his hand began shaking violently. He put it back down again.

By God, they better get there soon.

—

"Excuse me, do you recognize them?" Katsuo asked in English. This was one inquiry that he wanted to handle himself.

They shopkeeper squinted at the photograph. "Yeah, that's Kazuki and Yuuna. Who wants to know?"

"Katsuo Nakano, private detective. That's who wants to know. Kindly tell me where I could find them."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, Mr. Big Shot. There's a group of small beach homes on the other side of town. They live there. Number six, I believe. They come in here for ice cream. It's the best- and only- place in town. Would you like to try?"

Katsuo declined, but the rest of the officers gladly accepted.

—

"Call his family and friends." Whispered one nurse to another.

"Already?" The other nurse asked. "Was this his orders?"

"Well, uh no. But-"

"We should wait until he requests it."

The first nurse nodded.

—

Katsuo Nakano was on his phone, google earth-ing their home. The rest of the officers were sitting on a bench, eating ice cream.

They had insisted they sit for a while and eat their ice cream, much to the annoyance of Katsuo. He had protested that it would be too late to go to Hikaru and Haruhi's home by the time they were finished. But the others had said it was all work and they wanted to rest their tired legs. So, grudgingly, Katsuo consented.

The sun was low in the sky and and shining a bright orange. It darkened the treetops and illuminated the grass. The undersides of wispy clouds were pink and red, streaked like tears across the sky. It was a truly magnificent sunset.

But Katsuo was missing it.

—

'I have missed nothing.' Kaoru thought.

In his life, he has not missed one single experience. Well, perhaps getting married. He pushed that thought away.

Not one single experience.

—

"Okay, time's up, let's go men!" Katsuo snapped, jumping up from the bench.

Grumbling, the others got up off the bench and wiped their sticky fingers on their napkins.

—

"Um, excuse me miss?" Kaoru asked one of the maids. "Could you call my friends? And my father? I want them here. In case… Well, you know."

She nodded and rushed off.

If he couldn't have Hikaru and Haruhi there, he'd want everyone else.

—

Katsuo Nakano and his men reached the beach home number six. The curtains were drawn and there were no sounds of activity coming from inside the house.

He knocked, just to be sure. No answer.

"Damn you fools!" Katsuo cursed the squad. "If we hadn't stopped to rest, they would have still been here!"

—

Honey, Mori, Tamaki and Kyoya were clustered around Kaoru's bed. His father had yet to arrive.

"Kao-chan…" Honey whimpered. Tamaki was trying hard to keep it together, and Mori had tears in his eyes. Even Kyoya was moved.

"I thought for sure they would do it…" He whispered. He pushed up his glasses and cleared his throat. "Kaoru, I just want to say, you've been such a wonderful friend, and all the things that you've contributed to our lives have been greatly appreciated." He tried to speak calmly, but his voice caught at the end.

"No, it should be me thanking you." Kaoru said weakly. "All of you. You guys made me the person I am today."

Just then, Kaoru's father rushed into the room. "My son!"

At that moment, Kaoru was thinking very clearly. 'It must be hard for him to lose both his sons.'

"Hi dad."

There was silence for a beat. Then, Kaoru's father spoke again.

"There is nothing sadder than for a child to die before its parent."

Kaoru nodded. "At least we have this time, dad."

—

Katsuo was pissed.

Those morons! He paced up and down his room. Damn idiots.

—

Kaoru's eyes drooped, and his hand went slack.

"Aaah! Oh my God, Kaoru is dead! Kaoru! I didn't even get to say goodbye!" Tamaki wailed, tears streaming down his face.

"Um, Tama-chan?" Honey said, pointing to the heart monitor. It was still moving, indicating he was still alive and his heart was still beating. "He's just sleeping."

Tamaki gasped, then sighed. He sank into a chair. The others followed suit and sat, watching their beloved Kaoru Hitachiin sleep.


	7. Day 7

Day 7

Katsuo Nakano woke around 9:30 the next morning.

He dressed quickly and rushed to wake the other members of the Black Onion Squad. Today was the day.

Once they were all assembled, they proceeded in an orderly fashion to beach house #6.

Katsuo purposefully knocked on the door. A woman opened it. She had short brown hair and starry brown eyes, and she was definitely Haruhi.

"Euh… Hi?" She asked in Norwegian.

"I assume you are Yuuna Himura?" Katsuo asked in Japanese.

"Yes, that's me." She said, switching to Japanese. "How do you know I speak Japanese?"

"I'd like to speak to your husband." He said, ignoring the question. "Is he here?"

She nodded and disappeared. A moment later Hikaru came to the door. He obviously hadn't bothered to keep dying his hair, because it was its original ginger. "Yes?" He asked.

"Hikaru Hitachiin?" Katsuo replied.

"Wha- Uh, no. It's Kazuki. Kazuki Himura."

"Mmm-hmm. Mr. Hitachiin, I have vital information concerning your brother."

At this, Hikaru threw all caution to the winds. "Kaoru! Is he alright?!"

"Yes, Mr. Hitachiin, for now. But he won't be soon."

—

Hikaru sat in the window seat of an airplane, hands clasping and unclasping in nervous anticipation.

Haruhi laid a hand on his arm. "He'll be alright." She said soothingly. After all this time, she knew Hikaru's anxious idiosyncrasies like the back of her hand.

"But what if he isn't?" Hikaru whispered despairingly. "He's dying. I never even told him where we were!"

"Sorry to interrupt," Katsuo interrupted, "But why not?"

"We disappeared, thank you very damn much." Hikaru snapped.

"Well, in a nutshell, there were a few attempts on our lives." Haruhi explained. Katsuo resisted the urge to whistle.

Hikaru tried to discreetly wipe away tears, but failed. At the discreet part, that is.

—

"Attention all passengers. We will be arriving in Tokyo momentarily. Please fasten your seatbelt as we prepare to land."

They fastened them as the plane started to go down.

"I wish we hadn't gone." Hikaru whispered to Haruhi.

"I know. So do I. But we're speeding towards Kaoru as fast as we can. We'll get there soon."

"I hope so." Hikaru said unhappily. "He's my brother, Haruhi. If I was dying, he'd be the one I'd want by my side too."

Haruhi squeezed Hikaru's hand. She couldn't believe Kaoru had cancer. It was all too new and shocking.

She remembered the last thing she'd said to him: "Goodbye Kaoru!" He'd been the one that had driven them to the airport. He'd hugged her and told her to enjoy herself. And that was it.

The seatbelt warning clicked off, and the monotone female voice said, "Welcome to Tokyo, Japan. Enjoy your stay."

Hikaru and Haruhi jumped up and maneuvered their way out of the airplane. Waiting for them on the runway was a long black limo with the Ootori family symbol stamped on the back window.

"Good old Kyoya." Hikaru murmured. "Always looking out for us."

They all piled into the car and drove off.

—

It was deathly quiet in Kaoru's bedroom.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Hikaru and Haruhi rushed in, much to the astonishment of the other Hosts.

At that moment though, they didn't care. All they cared about was the fate of their dearest friend and loving brother.

They came to a halt at his bedside, joining the semi-circle of people clustered around the bed. They stared down at Kaoru Hitachiin, one of the best people in their lives.

Dead.

Tears. Tears came, dripping down noses and plopping onto the carpet. Nobody knew whose tears were whose. In that moment, they all became one, mourning the loss of Kaoru. Hands found each other, and squeezed. Nobody spoke. It would have been beautiful, had it not been so sad.

Eventually, though, Hikaru broke the silence. "Did… Did he say anything?"

Honey nodded, eyes glistening. Mori put his hand on Hikaru's shoulder.

"He said to tell you, 'never forget to remember the days gone by.'"


	8. Epilogue

**so I wasn't planning on writing an epilogue. But Snodin suggested it, so here I am.**

* * *

Day 8- Epilogue

Hikaru was having a tough couple of days. Maybe tough was a bit of an understatement. No, a masterpiece of an understatement.

He was sitting in Kaoru's now empty bedroom. It didn't seem like it should be empty. The covers on the bed were pulled back, and the impression on the mattress was still fresh. There was a glass of water on the bedside table, and there was a couple drops spilled on the wood, as though Kaoru had tried to put it down and dropped it too early. It seemed as if any moment, Kaoru was about to walk into the bedroom and say, "Hi Hika, where have you been these last ten years?" And flash him a smirk.

But he wasn't. Right now, Kaoru was stiff and cold and at the morgue.

Hikaru shuddered. Those sorts of thoughts were awful. He sighed and put his head in his hands.

Haruhi looked at him and sighed. She didn't know how they were going to get through this.

All of a sudden, Hikaru stood up and opened Kaoru's dresser drawer. He rifled through until he found the photograph of the hosts at their reunion. He pulled it out, and a few loose papers fluttered to the floor.

Hikaru set the picture on the dresser carefully. He studied it for a good five minutes before he noticed the tears dripping down his face.

"What did Kaoru always used to say?" He murmured. "'The carriage has turned back into a pumpkin'."

Haruhi brushed away a couple of her own tears and picked up the papers on the floor to put them back in the dresser. However, before she could, she noticed something about them.

"Hikaru..." She said slowly, hardly believing what was in front of her eyes. "I think you'll want to see this."

Hikaru got up from where he was kneeling in front of the dresser, holding the picture with both hands. He sniffled and peered over Haruhi's shoulder. His eyes widened as he read what was written on the paper.

_"Dear Hikaru and Haruhi," _It read.

_"By the time you read this, I will probably have passed away. Hell, you might not even read this. But I hope you do. Crap, I'm bad at this. Anyway, I have cancer. Bone cancer. I've had for a couple months, I don't know. I just want to tell you the whole story, in my own writing, rather than from the cold lips of a lawyer. Seven days ago, I got the news that I probably wouldn't live any longer than a week. And I thought, 'damn, I wish Hikaru and Haruhi were here.' So Kyoya offered to lend a couple of the detectives from the Black Onion Squad to help find you guys. If you're reading this right now, then they will have succeeded. If not... Well, it won't matter anyway. I just want you to know right away that I have willed Hikaru most of my estate, and of course a few things for the others as well. I love you two. I don't want you to allow this to affect you too much. You have lives of your own, and numerous things to take care of. Especially now. Straight from the heart, I love you._

_Xoxo -Kaoru."_

Hikaru gasped, and read it over again. Haruhi was gripping the paper so hard her knuckles were white. A hot tear splashed onto the letter, smudging the ink.

Hikaru and Haruhi sat there, holding each other and the letter, all that remained of Kaoru.


End file.
